#CyberFLASH: Black Friday shopping: Tips to stay cyber-secure

Black Friday may be a deal-hunter’s dream, but it’s also a golden opportunity for hackers seeking to steal credit card information and other sensitive data.

Cyber-security firm Symantec has been tracking incidents of cyber attacks and security breaches for 19 years, and has found that they “rise exponentially” in October, November, and December.

Alex Rau, a national information security strategist with the firm, says that’s not a surprise, given that more people are Internet shopping for the holidays.

“The more people shop online, it’s a target for attackers and they will try to get the information and use it and sell it for their own purposes,” Rau told CTV’s Canada AM on Friday.

Shoppers who think that sticking with in-store shopping makes them safer should remember that there are opportunities for hackers to steal their information, particularly if they go south of the border.